week 6

I was so excited to hear that we were going to be reading about the Guerrilla Girls. Ever since taking art history and being able to look at some of their works I was extremely interested in them. I love their artwork and have a great appreciation for it. What they do is amazing, fighting for women rights and educating people of the lack of women represented in the art world through their own works of art. It is clear that there are a lot of people who are interested in what they do since they travel all over the place creating awareness. I really like how they wear Gorilla masks and then have the female body. Like they said they are showing that women are angry, it is very creative and witty. I like the fact also that they spell it like Guerrilla, I never knew that it was because of the freedom fighters; there are so many little details that make what they do so much more powerful. I also like the humor that is used, they explain how they took the word feminism and made it sexy and funny when the word was becoming a dirty word at the time of the development of the Guerilla Girls.  They took something that was looked at negatively and made it a positive. Through these positive and powerful moves they are helping women get recognized more and more, being a woman myself I think that it is extremely important and daring to make moves such as they do. They put themselves out there and take a chance for all other women, even if a lot of women are not artists who view their work they are still doing it for those women as well.

I understand Mary Jane Jacob as someone who does not like what a museum does to art that is created. I think that she is very much more interested in the experience and what the actual meaning of the art is, she is not interested in how much someone would pay for it and such. She says that she is interested in the juncture between art and life. Her saying this made me think of the fact that the Guerrilla Girls are making a connection with art and life. I think also that they are connected in a way because to me I feel that the Guerrilla Girls are not trying to be trapped up in a museum with their art, like MJJ. She is also interested in ethnic diversity in art, which I appreciate, I believe that there is importance in variety and getting different perspectives of what other cultures may have. Mary Jane Jacob also talks about challenging what is art, stepping out of what the “professional sphere” is. Both the Guerrilla girls and MJJ experience this, I actually feel as though a lot of time I enjoy viewing this art more. With the Guerrilla Girls its because one its about feminism, and two because they have there own way of doing what they do. I think that that is important in art, actually doing what you want to do and not just what others expect you to, or like you to do.

 

The first piece of Guerrilla Girls artwork that I ever saw, and one of my favorites.

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